American Idol (season 6)
The sixth season of American Idol premiered on January 15, 2020. The season was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. On the May 21 finale, Jayvon Serrano was announced as the sixth American Idol over fellow finalist Renetta. Regional Auditions Auditions were held in Los Angeles, New York, Portland, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Austin, Tampa, and Washington D.C. Hollywood week The Hollywood rounds of the audition process were held over four days in November 2019 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. The first round consisted of each contestant singing one song a capella of their own choosing in front of the judges and all the other contestants. Contestants were then told whether they were moving on or going home, in groups of six. This extended over the first two days. The second round took place on the second and third day, and consisted of groups of three or four contestants choosing, rehearsing, and then performing one of nine pre-selected songs. Groups were reviewed and contestants were then judged individually as to whether they were moving on or going home. The third round took place on the fourth day, and consisted of individual contestants performing a song from a pre-selected list, accompanied by a piano and backup singers. Contestants were again informed of whether they had made the cut or not. Green mile The final pre-audience voting cut down took place at the Pasadena Civic Center on January 12 or 13, 2020, just before the regional audition shows began airing. Without any further auditioning, but possibly with some audience research having taken place, the 40 remaining contestants were reduced to 24. In a process taking a whole day, contestants wait in a sitting room until one by one, they go up an elevator and take a long walk to the other end of the Center's Gold Room. Then the three judges told them whether they have made it onto the stage show or are cut. The 24 semi-finalists were announced February 13, 2020. Semi-finals The semi-finals began on February 18, 2019. There were three shows each week for the three weeks of the semi-finals. The semi-finals featured the contestants (24 total) divided by gender with the 12 male singers singing on Tuesdays and the 12 female singers on Wednesdays. Each person had the chance to select a song to sing live in front of the judges. Following the show's airing, each U.S. timezone would have two hours to vote by phone or by text-messaging. On Thursday, the two of each group with the fewest votes were eliminated each week until the finals. Semi-finalists Females *'Deanne Johnson', 24 years old, auditioned in Tampa, and currently resides in Florence, SC. *'Jennifer Hamilton', 23 years old, auditioned in Austin, and currently resides in Fieldton, TX. *'Abby Black', 16 years old, auditioned in Washington D.C., and currently resides in Boston, MA. *'Summer Soliz', 20 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Irvine, CA. *'Mikayla Perkins', 21 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Philadelphia, PA. *'Paris Valentine', 18 years old, auditioned in Austin, and currently resides in El Paso, TX. Males *'Ray Cooper', 26 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Cleveland, OH. *'Walker Daniels', 20 years old, auditioned in Austin, and currently resides in Dallas, TX. *'Danny Mendoza', 22 years old, auditioned in Portland, and currently resides in Anchorage, AK. *'Jackson Doyle', 16 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Newark, NJ. *'Jonah Ware', 24 years old, auditioned in Portland, and currently resides in Logan, UT. *'Mack Simon', 28 years old, auditioned in Tampa, and currently resides in Tampa, FL. 'Top 24' Theme: 1980s Females Males 'Top 20' Theme: 2000s Females Males 'Top 16' Theme: 1970s Females Males Finals Finalists The 12 finalists were announced on March 5, 2020. As in past years, the top 12 will appear on the annual compilation album while the top 10 will be the participants in the American Idol summer concert tour. Also as in past years, one finalist was eliminated every week until the final two, where one will be declared the winner. The following is first in reverse chronological order by elimination date, then in alphabetical order by family name, where applicable. *'Jayvon Serrano', 22 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Garden City, NY. On May 21, Serrano was announced as the sixth American Idol over fellow finalist Renetta. *'Renetta', 28 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Cincinnati, OH. On May 21, Renetta was announced as the runner-up. *'Olivia Burns', 17 years old, auditioned in Austin, and currently resides in New Orleans, LA. On May 14, 2020, Burns was eliminated from American Idol, placing third. *'Bria Murray', 25 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Walpole, MA. On May 7, 2020, Murray was eliminated from American Idol, placing fourth. *'Jaron Perry', 24 years old, auditioned in Salt Lake City, and currently resides in Cottonwood, UT. On April 30, 2020, Perry was eliminated from American Idol, placing fifth. *'Candace McBride', 22 years old, auditioned in Austin, and currently resides in Radcliff, KY. On April 23, 2020, McBride was eliminated from American Idol, placing sixth. *'Ricky Rivera', 22 years old, auditioned in Washington D.C., and currently resides in Hartford, CT. On April 16, 2020, Rivera was eliminated from American Idol, placing seventh. *'Josh McDaniels', 25 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Anaheim, CA. McDaniels previously auditioned in seasons 4 and 5, and getting cut during Hollywood week in both. On April 9, 2020, McDaniels was eliminated from American Idol, placing eighth. *'Kieran Harrison', 18 years old, auditioned in New York, and currently resides in Farmville, VA. On April 2, 2020, Harrison was eliminated from American Idol, placing ninth. *'Elane Zamora', 23 years old, auditioned in Los Angeles, and currently resides in Bakersfield, CA. On March 26, 2020, Zamora was eliminated from American Idol, placing tenth. *'Daniel Colin', 21 years old, auditioned in Austin, and currently resides in Houston, TX. On March 19, 2020, Colin was eliminated from American Idol, placing eleventh. *'Cat Christian', 27 years old, auditioned in Portland, and currently resides in Santa Clara, CA. On March 12, 2020, Christian was eliminated from American Idol, placing twelfth. Top 12 – Bee Gees Top 11 – Diane Warren Mentor: Diane Warren Top 10 – Kelly Clarkson Mentor: Kelly Clarkson Top 9 – Country Mentor: Blake Shelton Top 8 – Year They Were Born Mentor: Lady Gaga Top 7 – Ariana Grande Mentor: Ariana Grande Top 6 – Maroon 5 Mentor: Adam Levine Top 5 – Halsey / Stevie Wonder Top 4 – Disco / Sam Smith Mentor: Sam Smith Top 3 – Judges' choice / Producer's choice / Contestant's choice Top 2 – Contestant's choice / Previous song / Winner's single Elimination chart Note: Bottom 2 indicates that the contestant was 'saved' last. This may or may not indicate his or her actual vote rank. Sometimes, Seacrest will announce that the contestant is in the bottom 2, sometimes he will not.